If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Top bar hive entrance front or side?

Which one is better front or side entrance to the top bar hive? With building a top bar hive and having front entrance do you still need to make dividers for the front and back or just the back? Also how do you feed the bees do you just stick jar of surger water and set it inside or does it need to be mounted inside?

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

total newbeee here.....I don't know much and have only one hive I started last year.

on the feeding.....I just put the jar of sugar water right behind the cluster after I installed em last year. Since then I haven't fed them again.

I have a friend that also started a hive the same time as I did with a tbh and he had the wind blow over his hive during the winter cus a board of plywood pushed up against his hive.......anyhow, he had a mess of broken comb and ended up harvesting a lot of stores.......just a week ago we looked at em and they were totally empty on the stores and we put in a jar of sugar water inside right behind the last comb......they really wanted something to eat cus they marched right to it.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

I like to use a side entrance but place it towards either end rather than the center of the hive. With a front entrance you would only need one follower board, another reason that I like the additional flexibility that the side entrance offers (a bit easier to work from either end). For feeding syrup I have a spare follower board with a notch cut into the bottom of it that allows me to slide an entrance feeder into it. That way I can monitor the syrup level through the window and swap it out as needed without removing bars or disturbing the bees.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

I just use a top entrance. I simply leave a 1/2 space between the end of the hive and the first top bar and my lid is such that the bees have no problems streaming in and out. Also I haven't put any unwanted holes in my hives that I might regret later on

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

Somebody on the Internet pointed out that if you are using side entrance, than mites from top part of the hive may accumulate at the entrance since bottom part of the hive is narrower than top. The idea is that side walls in TB are tilted and mites when fell, could "roll" down on the tilted wall and ended up at the entrance instead the bottom screen. When I built my TB (I prefer to call it Kenyan hive), I did not think about this and made nice side entrance close to one side. So, from this prospective, it looks like front entrance is better... Technically, there is not much difference between front entrance and side entrance if it is at the side. Some people drill a bunch of vine cork size holes everywhere and close unused entrances with vine corks... quite universal solution... Sergey

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

Some of the master beekeepers around here did an experiment. They put an entrance on the side at one end, and on the end. The bees preferred the one on the side. Now they always put them on the side. I have started just using top entrances, so I don't have to worry about entrances. Just slide the first bar over and it is done. So simple. The same beekeepers say putting an entrance in the middle of the side is unmanageable and suggest it never be done.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

The main reason for a front entrance is that it prevents the cluster from being in the center with honey on both sides of it, which is a bad configuration going into winter. A hive in a cold climate will likely work it's way to one end, leaving stores at the other end and if a warm snap doesn't allow them to relocate to the end with stores, they will starve there.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

Mine are on the side. One hive entrance is centered, I dont like this one for the reason Michael states above. The other one is toward the end of the hive still on the side. The bees keep the broodnest near the entrances so you want it at one end for wintering purposes.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

I would only leave one entrance to the hive open. It seems like the bees like to put their brood nest near the entrance, so having an entrance at each end would open up the hive for robbing and such, and make the hive much more difficult to defend. An entrance at each end is nice if you want to split the hive with a follower board and have two colonies in the same hive.
Ted

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

I have 2 TBHs, one with a side entrance and one with an end entrance. We had a prolonged, very cold winter in western Colorado this year. There are many variables--hive location, stores, etc--but FWIW, the hive with the end entrance survived the winter and the one with the side entrance did not. I wonder if it is for the reason Micheal Bush stated.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

Our hive plans had the entrance on the end. Now I'm concerned about ventillation and condensation as we are in the Pacific Northwest with a lot of rain in the fall/winter/spring. It does get hot for the 3-4 non rainy months as well. We certainly can drill a hole in the side and plug it if it seems they don't prefer it over the end entrance. If we do drill a hole on the side, what diameter should it be? Looks like it shouldn't be in the middle but more toward one end. Thanks for any tips!

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

I have end entrances, which I like for the reasons Michael mentioned. Also, with end entrances, you need just one divider board. I try not to feed, but if I have to, my divider board has a hole in it. I put syrup behind the board, and the bees travel through the hole. That way, I don't have to disturb them when refilling.

I should mention that ventilation/condensation has been an issue for me this winter. Doesn't seem to have anything to do with whether the entrance is on the end or side since I know people with side entrances who have the same issue. Am considering either a top entrance or adding a ventilation bar.

Re: Top bar hive entrance front or side?

I have both, but I like the side entrances towards one end, maybe three or four inches in from the end. Mainly I do this to get the brood nest on one end and the angled side keeps the entrances dry when it rains. If I were to make more hives with end entrances I think I would angle the entrances up a bit to help keep rain out. But it isn't a problem for the bees, the care less about the water than I do.